The Canes put in a long practice Monday at Raleigh Center Ice with two notable absences -- forward Nathan Gerbe and goalie Anton Khudobin.

Gerbe was hit in the head by forward Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders during the first period of Saturday’s game at Nassau Coliseum. Gerbe remained in the game; Grabner faces a hearing Monday with the NHL department of player safety.

Canes coach Kirk Muller called it a “day off” for Gerbe to get some treatment, saying, “I suspect he will be back tomorrow.”

Khudobin continues to recover from a lower-body injury suffered Oct. 13 against the Phoenix Coyotes. Muller said it might be another week or two before the goalie returns.

“I don’t see him participating in the next two games,” Muller said of the Canes’ back-to-back this week on the road against Minnesota and Colorado.

Defenseman Tim Gleason, who has recovered from a concussion, put in his first full contact practice and could play his first game of the season Thursday against the Wild, Muller said. Forward Elias Lindholm also could be ready to return after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury, the coach said.

A scheduling quirk enabled the Canes to take a day off Sunday, then put in three practice days before the Minnesota game. On Monday, power-skating instructor Kim Muir put the players through some skating exercises before and after a one-hour practice.

“Today was good. A lot of emphasis here on just a good work day,” Muller said. “In the next couple of days we’ll keep working on areas we want to improve on.”